Exploring Surrey's Past

Manor Asylum, Epsom, History

The Manor Hospital was opened by the London County Council (LCC) in 1899 for the treatment of persons detained under the Lunacy Acts. It initially consisted of a series of huts erected close to the previously derelict Horton Manor, which was adapted to provide administrative and staff facilities. By 1909 ten permanent brick buildings had been added to the hospital. Between 12 August 1916 and 1 April 1919 The Manor was used to treat military casualties. It reverted to a mental hospital after the war before becoming a hospital for the mentally handicapped from 1922 until its closure in 1994.

Unlike many other mental hospitals The Manor was primarily used to care for and rehabilitate improveable and trainable patients. Its staff, training facilities and accommodation were developed accordingly. From 1948 the hospital devoted itself to the training of moderately handicapped, disturbed adolescents and young adults and gained an international reputation in the field of industrial and behaviour therapy.

The Manor Hospital was managed by the LCC until the establishment of the National Health Service in 1948 when responsibility for it passed to its own Hospital Management Committee under the aegis of the South West Metropolitan Regional Hospital Board. Under the National Health Service Reorganisation Act, 1973, the hospital became part of the Mid-Surrey Area Health Authority.